Nov. '86 - Man of Steel # 3 & 4

This was the mini-series that re-introduced Superman to the DC Universe. It was the first origin reboot done post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was written and drawn by John Byrne who had been very successful at Marvel. It was published bi-weekly which was unusual for a DC or Marvel comic at the time.

The idea of the reboot was to strip Superman down to the basics, return him to 'Last Son of Krypton' status. Gone were Supergirl, Krypto, Kandor, Phantom Zone villains, etc. Of course, they would all be brought back over the following years (and far quicker than the time it took to introduce them the first time around).

Two good things that Byrne did with this reboot were keeping Clark Kent's parents alive and his redesign of Lex Luthor. With the Kents still alive into Clark's adulthood, he had someone to talk to about his powers which added a lot of humanity to his character. Lex was changed into a wealthy businessman that practically ruled Metropolis before Superman's arrival. In issue 4, Superman's involvement caused Luthor to be arrested like a criminal which started his hatred of Superman. I found that more interesting than being mad at Superman because he made you bald.

Issue 3 had Superman and Batman meeting for the 'first' time. Superman wasn't sure of Batman's methods and Batman was distrustful of Superman. Metropolis and Gotham were portrayed as two totally different cities where Gotham's darker side required a darker hero. They were not the World's Finest team after this first meeting. They would develop a respect for each other in the future.